Since the creation of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, its implementation process has been quite challenging. Most citizens are yet to be covered and most states are yet to fully implement the Act. Among the challenges that arise in the implementation process of the ACA includes the tax burden experienced by employees and lack of enough money to purchase the coverage. More people are more likely to opt for tax penalties rather than purchase the expensive health insurance exchanges (Mulligan, 2013). Other national payers are stepping back from operating via the public marketplace due to same challenges.
Peer #1 Response
I agree with Butler that healthcare services were quite expensive in the country before the creation of the Obama care. Even though the ACA is now in place, its full implementation still faces difficulties in some areas. The recent revisions of the ACA to consider the healthcare options for senior citizens using the Medicare program can be quite challenging. Among the options is the coverage of preventive services without co-payment from patients. This can be difficult due to the total expenditures and higher cost-sharing among the patients (Natafgi, Nattinger, Ugwi, Ullrich & Wolinsky, 2016). Moreover, Medicare reimbursements will tend to affect the quality of the healthcare as a result of vast economic incentives that are usually given to all healthcare providers.
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Peer #2 Response
I agree with Greene when he states that other than the benefits that are in place due to the ACA, many people still surfer due to unemployment and tax provisions brought about by the Act. I strongly believe that offering of health coverage for businesses with more than 50 employees may be an advantage to the employees but a challenge to the employers (Crocker & Kahla, 2015). Employers have to give accurate data reports to the IRS for compliance purposes and this may be a challenge regarding the volume of data involved which ranges from payroll and benefits to human resources. Moreover, affordability rules are often hard to comply with since it should not cost the employees more than 9.6% of their household income. This may be quite challenging since the employees may not reveal their actual household income.
Conclusion
The ACA was created with the primary aim of giving health coverage to most U.S. citizens at affordable prices. However, its full implementation may be a challenge considering compliance rules and regulations by employers and the cost of maintaining the program.
References
Crocker, R. M., & Kahla, M. C. (2015). Management challenge: ObamaCare. Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies , (6), 93.
Mulligan, C. B. (2013). Average Marginal Labor Income Tax Rates under the Affordable Care Act. NBER Working Papers , 2.
Natafgi, N., Nattinger, M., Ugwi, P., Ullrich, F., & Wolinsky, F. D. (2016). The impact of the affordable care Act (ACA) on favorable risk selection and Beneficiaries’ health status in Medicare advantage: a preliminary assessment. BMC Health Services Research , 16 , 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-016-166.
